I've been hearing more and more about eight Ministry of Health workers that were fired from their jobs for an alleged data breach. Apologies, calls for a public inquiry and calls for more information have filled the news lately. And for good reason.
The people fired did nothing wrong, but someone had to be blamed so they were chosen. In other words, they were the scapegoats.
This is tragic on so many levels, not the least of which is the suicide of Roderick MacIssac. MacIssac was a PhD student at UVic's school of public administration, and was only three days away from finishing his term when he was fired. I guess the part that got me the most fired up about this was last week when I heard one of the reasons for not proceeding with a public inquiry: we don't want to unnecessarily smear the reputations of other public service workers.
I'm sorry, but if you were involved in making this decision to fire these people without proof, I could care less about your reputation.
Losing your job is terrible. It is humiliating, degrading and depressing. You question your abilities. You wonder if you are worthy of getting another job at the same pay. You worry about providing for your family. But the worst part is coming home and telling your family.
I've lost jobs before, lots of people have. I can only imagine how it felt for these people to be brought into a room, told they are fired for something they didn't do and sent packing. It's one thing to lose your job when no one else knows, it's another to have your name released to the press.
And now, after all these people have gone through, the goal is protecting the staff who made the wrong decision?
I agree that proper process should be taken to make sure the right information is provided. Rushing to judgment just because there is a strong demand for accountability is not the right thing to do. It didn't work the first time, so get it right, but don't for a moment try and shelter people who used the reputations, emotions and careers of someone else to cover their own behinds.
I know people who have gone through similar circumstances. They were blamed for the incompetence and insecurity of someone else. One-sided investigations and lies were used as a cover story to justify discipline or firing. If you ever wonder why we have unions, it's because this type of crap still exists.
We always hear about paying more to hire the best and brightest. I don't buy that. True, people wanted to be adequately compensated, but more than that, they want to be treated fairly.
I'm sure the best and brightest have lots of options, and actions like this might have them polishing up resumes to get away from people who don't respect them. How can you believe in a leader that treats people this way?
I was watching A Few Good Men over the weekend, with the famous exchange between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson: "You want answers?" "I want the truth." "You can't handle the truth!" Oh yes we can. I think we deserve it. Especially the family of Roderick MacIssac.
Brad Sherwin, MBA has over 25 years experience in marketing, public relations and business strategy. He is currently the director of marketing for a national non-profit organization.
